Mark Twain

Will recently had a wonderful week.  He started Enrichment, something he has been begging to do for years, and he had a major role in the 4th grade play, Tom Sawyer.  He was Mark Twain.  The main narrator.  We found a sweet wig, mustache, and eyebrows and Mawga hunted down a great jacket for the production.  I think it once belonged to a Logan Temple worker.  It was Awesome!  After a little tweaking, Will was ready to go.  Will was fantastic and learned all his lines so well.  We were pretty proud parents and I hope he felt like a million bucks, because he did such a great job.  
 

And it was Summer. Warm. Beautiful Summer!

Anderson Family Summer Adventure 2014

 

First Stop Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  What an interesting place.  We took a swamp tour and saw a lot of Gators.

 

In fact, we even got to hold them. 

 

 

And Kiss them...

 

What a cool tour this was.  Mike and I kept saying how crazy it was that swamps like this actually exist and people actually live there.  There wasn't a mosquito to be seen and it smelled great.  Not what I was anticipating. 

 

Then on to Gulf Shores Alabama!  What a beautiful, piece of paradise that is.  It was the boys first time to the ocean and they loved it!  Jake keeps calling it the Sea, the little romantic, and I think I'll refer to it as the Sea from now on too. 

 

 

 

There was lots of boogie boarding, sand digging and football throwing.

 

Jake diligently produced his ocean face.....lips pinched shut to keep out all that salt water. 

 

There wasn't a cuter baby to be found on the beach anywhere. 

 

One rainy morning I made my boys drive down the beach and look at the gorgeous homes.  I don't think they were thrilled, but I enjoyed every minute.  I loved all the bright yellows, corals, greens, and the softer beachy colors like the home above.  I think I could live quite comfortably here.  Blast, that it is a little too far from family.   

 

 

Another day we drove into Pensacola, or rather, "Pepsi Cola" Florida.  Here we toured the National Naval Aviation Museum.  SO COOL!  We drove down to the beach ate a early dinner at the Grand Marlin, and then found a quite beach, all to ourselves, and played. 

 

Bracken, flying above the waves. 



On the way home we drove through Memphis Tennessee.    And of coarse, when in Memphis, one must stop and visit the King.  By the time we got to Graceland it was closed, but we did autograph the wall, and we were able to peek at the home.  Suddenly we were Elvis Fans!.  It was nuts.  There really is a Heartbreak Hotel across the street from Graceland.  Darn it! It was sold out. 

Memphis was a little disappointing and a little scary, so on our way out of town we stopped by the temple to help us all feel a little better about it!

This was a wonderful trip and a fun way to kick off summer.  The boys kept little travel logs on our way to Alabama and all together they got to see parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.  Will had just learned all the 50 states and capitols in 4th grade so it was fun to have him visit so many states and quiz us on their capitols.